United States: Heartland takes heat over billboard

Chicago Tribune: For about a day last week, a billboard featuring a mug shot of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, loomed over the inbound Eisenhower Expressway in west suburban Maywood, posing a question to drivers cruising toward the city: "I still believe in Global Warming," the electronic sign said in large red letters. "Do you?" The ad, paid for by the Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based group, was to be the first in a series of billboards equating those who believe in global warming with infamous figures...

URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-global-warming-billboard-20120506,0,2512323.story

Damming the Amazon

New York Times: Brazil is building the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world in the Amazon basin, and plans to build 60 in all, but indigenous people say they are threatened and so is the rainforest.

URL: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/05/05/world/americas/100000001526824/damming-the-amazon.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/05/05/world/americas/100000001526824/damming-the-amazon.html

Brazil’s Rush to Develop Hydroelectric Power Brings Unrest

New York Times: The revolt here on the banks of the Madeira River, the Amazon's largest tributary, flared after sunset. At the simmering end of a 26-day strike by 17,000 workers last month, a faction of laborers who were furious over wages and living conditions began setting fire to the construction site at the Jirau Dam. Throughout the night, they burned more than 30 structures to the ground and looted company stores, capturing the mayhem on their own cellphone cameras, before firefighters extinguished the blazes....

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/world/americas/brazils-rush-to-develop-hydroelectric-power-brings-unrest.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/06/world/BRAZIL/BRAZIL-articleLarge.jpg

Last Reactor of 50 in Japan Is Shut Down

New York Times: Japan's last operating reactor was taken offline Saturday, as public distrust created by last year's nuclear disaster forced the nation to at least temporarily do without atomic power for the first time in 42 years. The reactor, at the Tomari plant on the northern island of Hokkaido, was shut down for legally mandated maintenance, said its operator, Hokkaido Electric. As Japan's 50 functional commercial reactors have been shut down one by one for maintenance, none have been restarted because of...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/world/asia/last-reactor-of-50-in-japan-is-shut-down.html

Adirondack lakes' later freezing, earlier thawing shows rapid climate warming, scientists say

Associated Press: Wolf Lake in the Adirondack High Peaks region is considered a "heritage lake," one of the most pristine freshwater bodies in the northeastern United States. It remains as it was when European settlers arrived in North America. As part of a private preserve bordering the state-owned 300-square-mile High Peaks Wilderness Area, it has escaped pollution and the ravages of invasive plants and animals. It's one of a dwindling number of lakes with heritage brook trout and calcium-rich soils buffering its...

URL: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/54c7f20dab1b4026a6f726b2a497b76f/NY--Climate-Adirondacks

United States: 'Flash mob' gathers at Yolo Bypass levee to highlight climate change

Sacramento Bee: A group of 50 Davis residents showed up as a flash mob at the Yolo Bypass levee in Davis as part of a world-wide event called "Climate Impacts Day." The flash mob sought to cast a light on local issues relating to climate change. The event is taking place at more than 1,000 locations in 150 countries and organized by 350.org. In the region, a similar group in Sacramento is participating at the Guy West Bridge. At Davis the emphasis was climate change and how it will impact flooding, especially...

URL: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/05/4468461/flash-mob-gathers-at-yolo-bypass.html
Enclosure: http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2012/05/05/12/16/2U6OD.Em.4.jpg

UK urged to force firms to report carbon emissions

Reuters: Britain's government should force large companies to provide annual information on their carbon emissions in addition to reporting profits and executive pay, an alliance of businesses and environmental groups said, backed by public opinion. Environmental groups and companies including PepsiCo (PEP.N), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), working together as the Aldersgate Group, called on the UK to speed up plans to enforce carbon emissions reporting requirements. Business accounts...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/06/us-emissions-reporting-uk-idUSBRE84500820120506?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Business+News%29

United States: Climate Change Protesters Hold Demonstration

NBC 29: About 15 protesters are blaming Virginia Dominion Power for climate change in Charlottesville Saturday. They took a stand downtown joining a global demonstration to "Connect the Dots" between extreme weather and climate change. They feel Dominion Power needs to step up its efforts to bring renewable energy to Virginia. Jessica Glendinning of 350.org, an online grassroots campaign with the mission to solve the climate crisis said, "So this is our chance today to say you know Dominion claims...

URL: http://www.nbc29.com/story/18156263/climate-change-protesters

Republicans say Obama is running out of excuses to delay Keystone pipeline

The Hill: Republicans on Friday ramped up pressure on President Obama to quickly approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline after developer TransCanada Corp. formally reapplied for a key federal permit. "Today there is just one person standing in the way of tens of thousands of new American jobs: President Obama," House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement. "After nearly four years of review, delay and politics, he is out of excuses for blocking this job-creating energy project any longer." Republicans...

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/225529-republicans-say-obama-running-out-of-excuses-to-delay-keystone

More grasslands, less tundra in Alaska's future - report

Reuters: Long-term climate shifts will mean the spread of prairie-like grasslands and the displacement of much of the tundra habitat in Alaska and neighboring parts of Canada, according to a report released this week by the University of Alaska. The report predicts climate shifts through the end of the century in Alaska and Canada's Yukon and Northwestern Territories. The two-year Alaska, Yukon and Northwestern Territories Climate-Biome Shift Projects, conducted by the university in collaboration with...

URL: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/05/usa-climate-alaska-idINDEE84403520120505
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120505&t=2&i=603287194&w=320&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CDEE8440RF500

Deep-ocean Antarctic research raises climate change concerns

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: ELIZABETH JACKSON: The most dense water in the world is found deep in the Antarctic Ocean. This water, above the seabed, stores heat and carbon dioxide that would otherwise filter into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. But new research indicates the amount of dense water is substantially decreasing. Scientists say the findings have big implications. From Adelaide, Tom Nightingale reports. TOM NIGHTINGALE: Thousands of metres beneath the Antarctic ice, the water is so unusual...

URL: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2012/s3496172.htm
Enclosure: http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/news/audio/am/201205/20120505-sam-antarctic-study.mp3

TransCanada Submits New Application for Keystone Project

New York Times: TransCanada, the company behind the disputed Keystone XL pipeline, submitted a new application for the project to the State Department on Friday, as expected. The company will route the pipeline around the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region of Nebraska, and the revised proposal starts a fresh clock on the environmental review process. The State Department, which reviews pipeline projects that cross national borders, will probably need at least until the first quarter of 2013 to finish reviewing...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/transcanada-submits-new-application-for-keystone-project.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/05/us/PIPELINE/PIPELINE-popup.jpg

New Product: Fast charger from ABB launched in US.

The Terra 51 is an intelligent DC fast charger that reduces electric vehicle charging times from eight hours, using regular alternating current (AC), to as little as 15 to 30 minutes.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/content/products.html

Chevron seeks bank records in Ecuador environmental suit

Reuters: Chevron Corp went to federal court in Miami on Friday seeking to force an Ecuadorean bank to release records of alleged bribes the company says were paid to an independent expert in a multi-billion dollar environmental lawsuit against the oil company. The company is seeking records of eight bank accounts at the Banco Pichincha, an Ecuadorean bank with a branch in Miami that Chevron says was a conduit for $360,000 in "illicit payments" to the independent expert, Richard Cabrera. Cabrera was...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/05/us-usa-lawsuit-chevron-idUSBRE84401A20120505?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120505&t=2&i=603180941&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE844026V00

Japan nuclear power-free as last reactor shuts

Reuters: Japanese utility Hokkaido Electric Power Co began shutting the country's last active nuclear reactor on Saturday, leaving the world's third-biggest user of atomic energy with no nuclear-derived electricity for the first time since 1970. A crisis at Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, where an earthquake and tsunami in March last year triggered radiation leaks, has hammered public faith in nuclear power and prevented the restart of reactors shut down for regular maintenance checks....

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/05/us-nuclear-japan-idUSBRE84405820120505?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120505&t=2&i=603290433&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE8440O1Z00

Canada: Critics attack '1950s-style' car-focused approach

Montreal Gazette: If the government were really serious about fighting climate change, it would scrap its current plan to rebuild the Turcot Interchange rather than just tweak it, critics charged Friday. "We're wasting a marvellous opportunity," Projet Montréal leader Richard Bergeron said in response to the latest version of the $3-billion project, announced Friday by Transports Québec. Project manager Alain Dubé told a press conference the government has widened sidewalks, lengthened a sound-barrier wall,...

URL: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Critics%20attack%201950s%20style%20focused%20approach/6570334/story.html

Japan shuts down last working nuclear reactor

Guardian: Japan is shutting down its last working nuclear reactor as part of the safety drive imposed after the March 2011 tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima plant. The closure of the third reactor at the Tomari plant in Hokkaido prefecture, northern Japan, means all of the country's 50 nuclear reactors have been taken offline, leaving the country with no nuclear-derived electricity for the first time since 1970. Hokkaido Electric said it started lowering output from the reactor at 5pm (8am...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/05/japan-shuts-down-last-nuclear-reactor
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/5/1336217700180/Operators-have-begun-to-s-008.jpg

Japan closes last nuclear reactor

BBC: Japan is switching off its last working nuclear reactor, as part of the safety drive since the March 2011 tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima plant. The third reactor at the Tomari plant, in Hokkaido prefecture, is shutting down for routine maintenance. It leaves Japan without energy from atomic power for the first time for more than 40 years. Until last year, Japan got 30% of its power from nuclear energy. Hundreds of people marched through Tokyo, waving banners to celebrate...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17967202#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60052000/jpg/_60052379_014669123-1.jpg

Greenland's impact on oceans less than thought

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Not worst case Greenland's glaciers are slipping into the ocean at an ever increasing rate, but their impact on sea levels may be less than previously predicted, a ten-year study shows. The finding means that global sea levels aren't likely to rise up to two metres by 2100, the worst case scenario proposed by previous studies, which also suggested Greenland would contribute half a metre sea level rise from melted ice sheets. "It looks like we aren't heading towards a worst case scenario," says...

URL: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/05/04/3494907.htm

Canada: Climate activists to block coal railway as part of international day of action

Vancouver Observer: Climate change activists in White Rock are set to block railway lines starting at midnight, in a symbolic attempt to oppose coal shipments set for export overseas. The day-long blockade plan -- which includes "spotters" on the US side of the border to alert of approaching coal trains -- is part of a global day of action against climate change declared by the international group 350.org. Activists said they are targeting coal shipments of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway, which...

URL: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/politics/2012/05/04/climate-activists-block-coal-railway-part-international-day-action

Study keeps pace with Greenland glaciers

ScienceNews: Time-lapse snapshots showing Greenland's glaciers racing toward the sea in recent years have turned up some good news, and some bad news. As the island's glaciers disintegrate over coming decades, they won't raise the world's oceans as much as the most pessimistic forecasts had shown possible, researchers report in the May 4 Science. But the blocks of ice are still melting rapidly and may contribute worrisome centimeters to sea level rise by the end of the century. "We're certainly looking...

URL: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/340432/title/Study_keeps_pace_with_Greenland_glaciers_
Enclosure: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/access/id/340433/title/dp_greenland1.jpg

Greenland's glaciers have adapting role in global sea level

Alaska Dispatch: Like so much of climate science, the latest insight from the frozen world of Greenland offers one of those good news/bad news outlooks for the future of the world's oceanfront real estate. A decade-long, eye-in-the-sky study of nearly 200 major outlet glaciers found that they haven't been tumbling into the ocean with the dramatic acceleration once feared -- and that means these colossal rivers of ice might not contribute as much to a catastrophic sea-level rise as predicted by some worst-case...

URL: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/melting-glaciers-greenland-show-good-news-rising-sea-levels
Enclosure: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/slideshow_image/images/topic/science/moon3hr.jpg

S&C Energy Storage System Supports Microgrid at California Jail.

"With the stored energy system, the Santa Rita Jail can use on-site renewable generation to power the facility in the event of a power disruption on the utility grid," says Jim Sember, S&C Vice President—Power Quality Products.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12008.html

First Solar Posts Disappointing Q1 Results

![][1] First Solar, which recently announced it was shuttering its Germany facility, idling lines in Malaysia and laying off 30 percent of its global workforce, detailed some of the struggles facing the company with its quarterly report.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/4/1332-first-solar-posts-disappointing-q1-results.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/first-solar-posts-disappointing-q1-results?cmpid=rss

AES Combines Advanced Battery-Based Energy Storage with a Traditional Power Plant in Chile.

The advanced reserve capacity provided by the storage technology will enable the Angamos plant to generate an additional 20MW of energy at virtually all times throughout the year.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12009.html

MidAmerican Solar and First Solar Start Construction on Largest Solar Project in the World.

The 550-megawatt photovoltaic project will employ approximately 400 workers during its three-year construction period; will generate nearly $417 million in local economic impact, the majority of which will be generated during construction; and will provide California with renewable electricity.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12010.html

America's Abundant Natural Gas: Ready to Squander.

Reserves could be burned up quickly if the economy improves.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2012/20120045.html

Solar Voyage: Around the World in 584 Days

![][1] It came much more quickly than the three years it took the Ferdinand Magellan expedition, but not nearly as fast as the 80 days it took Jules Verne's fictitious Phileas Fogg.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/4/1332-solar-voyage-around-the-world-in-584-days.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/solar-voyage-around-the-world-in-584-days?cmpid=rss

And the Solar Fred Award Goes to….

![][1] From a solar marketing and advocacy perspective, I'm a big fan of public peer awards. They're important for any industry, especially for a difficult and growing industry like solar. I bring up this award topic now because I've just learned that Heather Andrews (a.k.a. "@PVaddict") has just won a posthumous Woman in Solar

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/4/8435-and-the-solar-fred-award-goes-to-.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/and-the-solar-fred-award-goes-to?cmpid=rss

Japanese Proposed Tariffs Submitted

![][1] In what may be the most significant renewable energy policy development worldwide in years, Japanese authorities are circulating proposed feed-in tariffs that-if confirmed by the Minister of Trade later this month-could lead to a crash renewables program.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/4/1332-japanese-proposed-tariffs-submitted.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/japanese-proposed-tariffs-submitted?cmpid=rss

Rutgers Builds Solar-Powered Computing Center, Studies Power Management

![][1] Contractors recently installed 16 polycrystalline solar panels on top of a novel computing facility on the roof of Rutgers's School of Engineering Building. Researchers will use Parasol, as it's called, to study how to effectively manage computing and data processing with solar-generated electricity.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/3/1332-rutgers-builds-solar-powered-computing-center.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/rutgers-builds-solar-powered-computing-center?cmpid=rss

Managing the Wind

![][1] With nearly 47,000 MW of wind power capacity in the U.S. and more than 8,000 MW expected to go online in 2012, wind power's rapid growth poses a tremendous challenge for utilities and grid managers charged with managing a growing source of intermittent electricity.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/2/1332-managing-the-wind.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/managing-the-wind?cmpid=rss

TransCanada expected to reapply for Keystone pipeline permit as soon as Friday

Washington Post: The company also unveiled a new route for the pipeline through Nebraska. President Obama, environmentalists and many Nebraskans -- including the state's Republican governor, Dave Heineman -- had raised concerns that the project's original route could imperil Nebraska's ecologically sensitive Sandhills region, as well as the Ogallala aquifer, a major source of drinking water for state residents. The new route would steer clear of the Sandhills region, although it still runs over parts of the Ogallala...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/transcanada-to-reapply-for-keystone-pipeline-permit-sources-say/2012/05/03/gIQAfbksyT_story.html
Enclosure: http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/05/03/Web-Resampled/2012-05-03/w-Keystone296--300x348.jpg

Panetta links environment, energy and national security in groundbreaking speech

Greenwire: Climate change and oil dependence are issues of national security, and the Pentagon will take a lead role in shifting the way the country uses energy, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last night. In remarks made at a Washington, D.C., reception held by the Environmental Defense Fund, Panetta became the highest-level official to draw a clear line between environmental, energy and security issues since their relationship was formally established in Pentagon strategy two years ago. "In the...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/05/03/1

Ice is Flowing Slower on Greenland than Many Feared

Climate Central: Greenland is the 800-pound gorilla of sea-level rise. The world's biggest island holds 680,000 cubic miles of ice, and if it all melted, the oceans would rise by more than 20 feet. That's not going to happen any time soon, even with global warming. But some of the ice is melting and some is also sliding into the sea -- and that could still add up to significantly higher seas by the end of the century, bringing all sorts of nasty problems. The big question facing scientists is: how much higher will...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ice-is-flowing-slower-on-greenland-than-many-feared-study-says?utm-source=feedburner&utm-medium=feed&utm-campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
Enclosure: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/336/6081/576

United Kingdom: Three arrested during climate protest

Agence France-Presse: Police arrested three people Thursday as hundreds demonstrated against rising fuel prices and climate change outside a London conference attended by energy company bosses. The Climate Justice Collective said it was targeting the "big six" energy companies which it claims are "profiteering from fuel poverty" and "trashing the planet". The UK Climate Energy Summit is being held in The City of London financial district with the aim of bringing together policymakers, industry leaders and regulators...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/three-arrested-during-climate-protest-153208736.html

EPA to Utah: Halt the haze in your national parks

Associated Press: A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order will require two of Utah's oldest coal-fired power plants to improve control of pollution that has drastically reduced visibility across a region that includes five national parks and redrock wilderness. Only on msnbc.com Guillermo Garcia Immigration nightmare for Army soldier's wife Bin Laden fretted about affiliates' missteps, letters show Bullied gay student faces expulsion over stun gun Ex-CIA official: No 'blood on the walls,' no torture Reuters...

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47279139#.T6Kl0MWARBl
Enclosure: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-120503-bryce-canyon-nj-01.photoblog900.jpg

Scientists Race to Save World's Rice Bowl From Climate Change

National Geographic: Climate change is predicted to cause more intense and frequent floods and droughts in Southeast Asia, threatening the world's rice bowl and millions of people who live there unless preventive actions are taken soon, scientists warn. At the Climate Smart Agriculture in Asia workshop held in Bangkok, Thailand, last month, climatologists and agricultural researchers discussed farming practices and technologies that could help the region cope with global warming's effects, including rising temperatures,...

URL: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/05/120502-southeast-asia-climate-change/
Enclosure: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/524/overrides/freshwater-rice-bowl-threatened-climate-change_52408_600x450.jpg

Preparing for life without nuclear power

Guardian: This weekend Japan will begin a bold experiment in energy use that no one had thought possible – until the Fukushima Daiichi power plant suffered a triple meltdown just over a year ago. On Saturday, when the Hokkaido electric power company shuts down the No3 reactor at its Tomari plant for maintenance, the world's third-largest economy will be without a single working nuclear reactor for the first time for almost 50 years. The closure of the last of Japan's 54 reactors marks a dramatic shift...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/03/japan-nuclear-power-closure
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2012/5/3/1336055401310/Anti-Nuclear-Protest-agai-007.jpg

U.S. readies proposal to clamp down on fracking

Reuters: The Obama administration wants to clamp down on shale gas drilling on public lands and set standards that proponents of tougher regulation hope will provide a blueprint for drilling oversight nationwide. Industry sources said the Interior Department could propose a new rule on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as early as Friday. The measure would require natural gas drillers to disclose chemicals they use to frack wells, a controversial process that involves injecting water, sand and chemicals...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/04/us-usa-fracking-rule-idUSBRE84304R20120504?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120504&t=2&i=602770771&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=460&pl=300&r=CBRE84308TE00

Connecting the dots of this climate change crisis

TomDispatch: The Williams river was so languid and lovely last Saturday morning that it was almost impossible to imagine the violence with which it must have been running on 28 August 2011. Yet the evidence was all around: sand piled high on its banks, trees still scattered as if by a giant's fist, and most obvious of all, a utilitarian temporary bridge where, for 140 years, a graceful covered bridge had spanned the water. The YouTube video of that bridge crashing into the raging river was Vermont's iconic...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/may/04/connecting-dots-climate-change-crisis
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2011/6/1/1306934324484/China-drought--007.jpg

Environmental groups sue to stop coal leases in Wyoming

Reuters: Citing global warming, environmental groups are asking a federal judge to call a halt in Wyoming to one of the largest coal-mining plans ever approved by the U.S. government. In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the Sierra Club and WildEarth Guardians said the federal Bureau of Land Management failed to consider the impact of greenhouse gases that will be emitted when coal from four government mineral leases in Wyoming is burned in power plants across the...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/04/us-usa-coal-wyoming-idUSBRE84307I20120504?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

As Japan swings away from nuclear power, higher oil dependency erases greenhouse-gas gains

Associated Press: The Fukushima crisis is eroding years of Japanese efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming, as power plants running on oil and natural gas fill the electricity gap left by now-shuttered nuclear reactors. Before last year's devastating tsunami triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, Japan had planned to meet its carbon emissions reduction targets on the assumption that it would rely on nuclear power, long considered a steady, low-emissions source of energy....

URL: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/04/as-japan-shuts-down-nuclear-power-emissions-rise/

Panetta: Hybrid Warships Solution to 'National Security Threat' of Global Warming

NewsMax: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes that global warming is a national security threat, and he's pushing for a entire new fleet of costly "hybrid' planes and battleships to save the planet. "The area of climate change has a dramatic impact on national security," Panetta told the Environmental Defense Fund Wednesday night in Washington, according to the Washington Examiner. "Rising sea levels, severe droughts, the melting of the polar caps, the more frequent and devastating natural disasters...

URL: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/panetta-hybrid-warships-global/2012/05/03/id/437998

Bangkok heat stokes debate over mega-city planning

Reuters: Five months after the worst floods in half a century, the Thai capital is facing a heat wave with temperatures at three-decade highs, stoking debate over chaotic urban planning that blights many of Southeast Asia's overcrowded capitals. The daily average high in Bangkok in April was 40.1 Celsius (104.2 Fahrenheit), the Meteorological Department says, prompting warnings from authorities for residents to be alert for heat-related ailments. Critics say the heat has been exacerbated by poor urban...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/04/us-thailand-heatwave-idUSBRE84304G20120504?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120504&t=2&i=602756701&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=700&pl=300&r=CBRE84306PD00

Australia: When There Really Is Not a Drop to Drink

New York Times: Jay Famiglietti, one of a handful of expert witnesses in Jessica Yu's "Last Call at the Oasis,' is a thoughtful scientist with an engaging manner who specializes in water. In particular, he studies -- and tries to raise public awareness about -- the rapid depletion of water supplies caused by agricultural overuse, rampant development and global climate change. His analyses are thorough and clear, and he presents them, at public meetings and straight to Ms. Yu's camera, with good-natured patience....

URL: http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/movies/last-call-at-the-oasis-a-documentary-about-water-supplies.html?scp=9&sq=climate+change&st=nyt
Enclosure: http://www.lastcallattheoasis.com/

Extinction's toll could rival climate change

Futurity: A new study published in the journal Nature directly compares the effects of biological diversity loss to the anticipated effects of a host of other human-caused environmental changes--and highlights the need for stronger local, national, and international efforts to protect biodiversity and the benefits it provides. "Some people have assumed that the effects of biodiversity loss are relatively minor compared to that of other environmental stressors," says lead author biologist David Hooper of...

URL: http://www.futurity.org/earth-environment/extinctions-toll-could-rival-climate-change/
Enclosure: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11118.html

Wastewater Disposal Is an Issue in Hydrofracking

New York Times: Vexed by declining revenue, officials of the Niagara Falls water utility seized on a new moneymaking idea last year: treat toxic waste from natural-gas drilling at its sewage-treatment plant once hydrofracking gets under way in New York State. Accepting the waste would both offset the drop in revenue and help keep water rates down for customers in the economically strapped region, they reasoned. But the thought of having fracking fluids trucked into the city, treated and discharged into the Niagara...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/nyregion/wastewater-is-an-issue-in-hydrofracking.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/04/nyregion/FRACK1/FRACK1-articleLarge-v2.jpg

Endorser gives Christie 'D' grade on environment

Associated Press: Leaders of an environmental group that endorsed Gov. Chris Christie in 2009 say he may have adjusted his views on issues like climate change because of his rising stature on the national political stage. The New Jersey Environmental Federation on Thursday released a report card giving the Republican a grade of "D'' on environmental policy issues. The group bucked trends by endorsing Christie, over former Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat. David Pringle, the group's campaign director, said it's unclear...

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47291434

Brazil Sending Troops to Guard Amazon Borders

New York Times: Brazil is deploying more than 8,500 troops to the far reaches of the Amazon rain forest this month in an operation aimed at cracking down on drug smuggling, gold mining and illegal deforestation, officials said. The troop mobilization sends a clear message ahead of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which is scheduled to take place here in June, that Brazil is taking steps to assert greater control over its porous frontiers in the Amazon. Soldiers are being sent to border...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/world/americas/brazil-sending-more-troops-to-guard-amazon-borders.html

Australia: Government names 250 companies to pay carbon tax

Sydney Morning Herald: Companies such as Alcoa, BHP Billiton, Boral and La Trobe University are among about 250 companies that will pay the carbon tax when it is introduced on July 1. The Clean Energy Regulator has today published an initial list of 250 ''liable entities'' that will face the $23 per tonne tax, however a further 80 companies have also notified that they are likely to face the new tax in the 2012-2013 financial year. It says these companies and facilities will account for more than 95 per cent of emissions...

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/government-names-250-companies-to-pay-carbon-tax-20120504-1y3gu.html

Japan’s Leaders Fret as Nuclear Shutdown Nears

New York Times: Barring an unexpected turnaround, Japan on Saturday will become a nuclear-free nation for the first time in more than four decades, at least temporarily. Japan's leaders have made increasingly desperate attempts in recent months to avoid just such a scenario, trying to restart plants shut for routine maintenance and kept that way while they tried to convince a skittish public that the reactors were safe in the wake of last year's nuclear catastrophe. But the government has run up against a crippling...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/world/asia/japans-leaders-fret-as-nuclear-shutdown-nears.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/04/world/04osaka_337/04osaka_337-articleLarge.jpg

Calculating Cooling Loads

Subtitle:

Part 3 in a series of articles on sizing heating and air conditioning equipment

Images:

[![][1]][2]

A few decades ago, residential air conditioning was very rare in colder areas of the U.S., and cooling load calculations were usually unnecessary. These days, however, new U.S. homes routinely include air conditioning equipment, even in Minnesota, so most U.S. builders are faced with the need to calculate cooling loads.

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Heat gain illustration - IBACOS.jpg (Illustration of heat gain mechanisms in a house)
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/calculating-cooling-loads

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/calculating-cooling-loads

Tropical countries struggle to engage with REDD+

SciDev.Net: Most tropical developing countries are struggling to monitor and report their greenhouse gas emissions from forest loss, and will need international support to implement the UN REDD+ scheme, according to a study. The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) scheme aims to reverse forest cover loss and curb related carbon emissions by putting a financial value on stored carbon. REDD+ was agreed at Cancun in 2010 and added conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancing...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/climate-change-and-energy/news/tropical-countries-struggle-to-engage-with-redd-.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_climatechangeandenergy
Enclosure: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901112000202

EU green goals depend on CO2 market-Acciona

Reuters: The European Union could fail to hit its green goals unless it manages to drive carbon prices on its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to around three times current levels, Spain's Acciona Energy said. Acciona is among a group of businesses - including Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, Philips, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone - whose leaders on Thursday met European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and other senior officials from the EU executive. They reiterated demands for ambitious future...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/03/us-eu-carbon-acciona-idUSBRE8420W020120503?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

UN lauds Philippines’ climate change laws ‘world’s best’

Philippine Daily Inquirer: The country's laws on climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) are the "best in the world," UN special envoy Margareta Wahlström said Thursday. Wahlström, special DRR representative of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, praised the Philippines for taking the lead in the global campaign to mitigate disaster risks brought about by global warming. She commended Senator Loren Legarda, the UN Champion for DRR and CCA for Asia and the Pacific, for ensuring the passage of climate-responsive...

URL: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/35695/un-lauds-philippines%e2%80%99-climate-change-laws-%e2%80%98world%e2%80%99s-best%e2%80%99

Scientists core into California's Clear Lake to explore past climate change

Phys.Org: University of California, Berkeley, scientists are drilling into ancient sediments at the bottom of Northern California's Clear Lake for clues that could help them better predict how today's plants and animals will adapt to climate change and increasing population. The lake sediments are among the world's oldest, containing records of biological change stretching back as far as 500,000 years. The core drilling is part of a unique, multifaceted effort at UC Berkeley to determine how Earth's...

URL: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-scientists-core-california-lake-explore.html

Nuclear power is only solution to climate change, says Jeffrey Sachs

Guardian: Combating climate change will require an expansion of nuclear power, respected economist Jeffrey Sachs said on Thursday, in remarks that are likely to dismay some sections of the environmental movement. Prof Sachs said atomic energy was needed because it provided a low-carbon source of power, while renewable energy was not making up enough of the world's energy mix and new technologies such as carbon capture and storage were not progressing fast enough. "We won't meet the carbon targets if...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/03/nuclear-power-solution-climate-change
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2012/5/3/1336061007406/US-economist-Jeffrey-Sach-006.jpg

United Kingdom: It's green growth or nothing

Guardian: Much of our economic debate implies we must choose between going green or going for growth. That view may be the opposite of the truth. There is now hard evidence that the real choice is between green growth or no growth at all. For the first time in the postwar period, energy and other commodity prices are unusually high for this point of the global recovery. Normally the cost of basic materials falls in real terms for at least two years after a recovery begins. In the past, this boosted real...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/03/green-growth-nothing
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/3/1336048372050/Shale-Gas-Costing-23-Less-008.jpg

115 mining companies operating illegally in forest areas in Indonesia

Mongabay: More than 100 mining companies are operating without licenses in forest areas across 471,000 hectares in Indonesia, reports The Jakarta Post. A recent report from Indonesia's Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found 115 companies are operating in forests controlled by the Ministry of Forestry. The agency called for an investigation into the companies. The findings are based on sampling in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Maluku, among other areas. Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics-Indonesia,...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0503-mining-bpk-illegal-indonesia.html

United Kingdom: Protestors target energy conference

Press Association: Climate protesters and anti-cuts demonstrators have targeted a summit of major power firms over high energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Justice Collective said 300 protesters attempted to disrupt the energy summit in the City of London in an event supported by groups including UK Uncut, Fuel Poverty Action and the Campaign against Climate Change. The conference is being attended by bosses of the "Big Six" energy companies, which supply most of the power to UK homes and businesses....

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/protestors-target-energy-conference-7711814.html

Sea-level rises 'may not be as high as worst-case scenarios have predicted'

Guardian: Sea-level rises are unlikely to be as high as worst-case scenarios have forecasted, suggests new research which shows that Greenland's glaciers are slipping into the sea more slowly than was previously thought. But the scientists warned that ice loss still sped up by 30% and is driving rises in sea levels that endanger low-lying coasts around the world. Along with Antarctica, the loss of ice from the huge Greenland ice cap is the biggest direct contributor to rising sea levels, pouring 250bn tonnes...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/03/sea-level-rises-greenland-glaciers
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2012/5/3/1336059078116/Greenland-glaciers--Icy-w-007.jpg

Greenland glaciers speed up, swelling rising seas: reports

Reuters: Some of Greenland's glaciers are moving about 30 percent faster than they did 10 years ago, contributing to rising global sea levels, but that still may not be enough to reach the most extreme projections for 2100, scientists reported on Thursday. Researchers have been monitoring the big ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica for decades as one indication of the impact of human-spurred climate change. Made of compacted snow, these glaciers can move toward the sea, and when they get there, they...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/03/us-climate-glaciers-sealevel-idUSBRE84214K20120503?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Greenland Glaciers Are Speeding Up

LiveScience: Greenland's ice sheet is on the move, with new images showing its glaciers moving 30 percent faster than they were a decade ago. Greenland and Antarctica are home to the two biggest blocks of ice on Earth. As climate changes, these glacier are shrinking and the water contained in them is moving into the oceans, adding to the already rising sea level. A glacier's velocity is a measure of how fast the ice on the surface of the sheet is flowing toward the edges of the sheet. This flow can be faster...

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47282956

United States: Protestors chain themselves to tracks to block coal train near Duke Energy plant

Charlotte Observer: Seven people were arrested Thursday morning in Catawba County after a group of protesters from Greenpeace and three other organizations blocked a train from entering Duke Energy's steam-powered plant on N.C. 150 in Terrell by chaining themselves to the tracks. The group aimed the protest at Duke Energy, for its use of coal-powered plants, and at technology giant Apple. Leaders of the action said they are protesting Apple because it is using Duke Energy power for the expansion of its data center...

URL: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/03/3216088/protesters-block-train-at-duke.html
Enclosure: http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2012/05/03/14/24/npYLB.Em.138.jpg

United States: Is Yucca Mountain Still Dead?

New York Times: As I reported in this article, two states with big volumes of military and civilian nuclear wastes are suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to try to force it to follow the terms of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which called for the development of a waste repository at Yucca Mountain, near Las Vegas. Agence France-Presse -- Getty ImagesAn entrance to the scrapped Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada. The commission has discontinued work on evaluating the Energy Department's onetime plan for...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/is-yucca-mountain-still-dead-2/

ACCIONA to Install First 3 MW Turbines in North America

The groundbreaking project, called Pioneer Grove, will be the first installation of the game-changing machine in North America. The Pioneer Grove Wind Farm is less than 20 miles from ACCIONA's wind turbine assembly plant in West Branch, Iowa.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12007.html

International Wastewater Heat Exchange Systems: North America’s First Sewage Heat Recovery System Installed.

At 500% efficiency and an annual Greenhouse Gas Emission reduction of 150 tonnes, the system heats the domestic hot water for the development's 60 homes and contributed to earning the condominium complex the first dual 'green' certification in Canada - LEED Platinum and Built Green Gold.

URL:

Synergy Dairy: New York’s Largest On-Farm Biogas Power Project Generates Renewable Energy for Nearly 1,000 Homes.

The biogas created in the 120,000-gallon co-digester is fueling a GE ecomagination-qualified, Jenbacher J420 biogas engine to generate 1.4 megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12006.html

British Columbia Rethinks Its Pioneering Carbon Tax

National Geographic: sometime this year. To reach the 2020 targeted goal, Marc Lee argues in favor of a steep hike in the carbon tax. "I actually think we should be driving the carbon tax up to about [Canadian] $200 per ton by 2020, which would essentially close the gap between prices here and what you pay typically in Europe," he said. But some industries argue that any increases in the carbon tax will put them at a competitive disadvantage. "The problem for B.C. is that no other provinces or U.S. states have...

URL: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/05/120503-british-columbia-reviews-carbon-tax/
Enclosure: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/525/overrides/energy-british-columbia-carbon-tax-greenhouse_52504_600x450.jpg

A Big Audacious Goal: Turning on the Lights for 1.4 Billion People

![][1] At the recent Fortune Brainstorm Green conference which I attended in Laguna Niguel, California, there was a host of U.S.-focused presentations and conversations. The ongoing themes and dialogue provided significant insights into the current state of affairs in the U.S. clean-tech market, including:

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/3/1332-a-big-audacious-goal-turning-on-the-lights-for-1-4-billion-people.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/a-big-audacious-goal-turning-on-the-lights-for-1-4-billion-people?cmpid=rss

China Dims 'Golden Sun' Solar Subsidy

![][1] China, the target of criticism and legal action from those who contend it unfairly subsidizes its export market, is now cutting support for some of its own solar generation.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/3/1332-china-dims-golden-sun.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/china-dims-golden-sun?cmpid=rss

Scouring the Tropics for Thermal Energy

![][1] The world's largest untapped source of solar energy doesn't lie on the vast sands of the Sahara or even atop the high chaparral of the desert Southwest. Instead, it stretches across at least 23 million square miles of earth's tropical oceans; the uppermost layers of which make a prime natural source of thermal energy.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/3/1332-scouring-the-tropics-for-thermal-energy.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/scouring-the-tropics-for-thermal-energy?cmpid=rss

Green groups say Indonesia deforestation ban 'weak'

Agence France-Presse: A coalition of green groups in Indonesia on Thursday criticised a moratorium on deforestation as "weak", saying the year-long ban still excludes large tracts of the country's carbon-rich forests. Greenpeace, which is leading the coalition, said government maps that mark protected areas exclude 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres) of peatland -- biodiverse swamp-like forests that hold rich carbon reserves. Greenpeace said the government must review all existing logging permits on the country's...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/green-groups-indonesia-deforestation-ban-weak-073032219.html

Biofuels in the balance as EC fails to sort out carbon impact

BusinessGreen: Biofuel producers have been "left in limbo" by EU policymakers' failure to agree on how to measure the industry's environmental impact at a meeting in Brussels yesterday. Officials were attempting to thrash out a method of accounting for indirect land use change (ILUC), which occurs when areas are cleared to grow crops for energy. Green groups claim this has the potential to raise emissions and push up food prices, negating the emissions savings that should result from switching from fossil fuels...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2172232/biofuels-balance-ec-fails-sort-carbon-impact?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Biofuels+in+the+balance+as+EC+fails+to+sort+out+carbon+impact

Uncertainty still clouds future of EU biodiesel

Reuters: Senior European Union officials failed on Wednesday to agree on how to measure the full climate impact of bio fuels, prolonging uncertainty in a debate that threatens to wipe out large parts of Europe's biodiesel industry. The talks followed warnings from scientists that using biodiesel made from European rapeseed and imported palm oil and soybeans does nothing to prevent climate change and could actually accelerate it. After more than a year of in-fighting within the European Commission, the...

URL: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/02/uk-eu-biofuels-idUKBRE84115L20120502
Enclosure: http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120502&t=2&i=602132344&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=2012-05-02T190051Z_1_CBRE8411GTH00_RTROPTP_0_CANCUN

Ecosystem effects of biodiversity loss rival climate change and pollution

ScienceDaily: Loss of biodiversity appears to affect ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to results of a new study by an international research team. The study is the first comprehensive effort to directly compare the effects of biological diversity loss to the anticipated effects of a host of other human-caused environmental changes. The results, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, highlight the need for stronger local,...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120502184719.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2012/05/120502184719-large.jpg

Plants responding to climate change more than thought

TG Daily: Experiments on how plants respond to climate change may have lulled us into a false sense of security by dramatically underestimating the effects. An analysis of 50 plant studies on four continents has found that shifts in the timing of flowering and leafing in plants due to global warming appear to be much greater than estimated by warming experiments. "This suggests that predicted ecosystem changes - including continuing advances in the start of spring across much of the globe - may be far...

URL: http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/63138-plants-responding-to-climate-change-more-than-thought
Enclosure: http://img.tgdaily.com/sites/default/files/stock/450teaser/plants/forest.jpg

Heavy rains affecting water quality at UK beaches

Guardian: Heavy recent rains are flushing raw sewage into coastal waters, ruining the water quality at popular beaches around the UK just as the bathing season begins, according to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). As it publishes its 2012 Good Beach Guide on Thursday, the MCS reveals that one-third of the 750 beaches it tested failed on water quality, due to contamination from overflowing sewers and run-off from farms or from streets, where dog waste presents a significant problem. Overall, the...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/03/rain-water-quality-uk-beaches
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2012/5/2/1335972564660/Sewage--Rainwater-flowing-008.jpg

China must act urgently to curb city emissions: World Bank

Reuters: China must act urgently on multiple fronts if it is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its rapidly expanding cities and hit government targets for curbing carbon intensity, a new report from the World Bank said on Thursday. Cities generate an estimated 70 percent of energy-related greenhouse gases and with China set to increase its number of urban residents by 350 million over the next 20 years, the Bank says the case for urgent action is strong. "For the 12th Five-Year Plan period, a 17...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/03/us-china-environment-worldbank-idUSBRE84202R20120503?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120503&t=2&i=602287372&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE84208XC00

Rising coal exports have Montana rail communities braced for worst

Daily Climate: The emissions are unhealthy, the noise insufferable. But it's the wait that can be life-threatening. Every day, 20 freight trains rumble through downtown Billings. Five of those are coal trains – 120 cars stretching a half-mile and carrying 17,000 tons of coal west. The trains bisect the town, cutting affluent north from poorer and predominantly minority south. The city's only two hospitals sit on the northern half of town, and residents fear that one day a long wait – or a train wreck – could...

URL: http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2012/04/coal-trains-montana
Enclosure: http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2012/04/04fotos/Richardson3-pushing-768.jpg/image_large

Asian countries told to reduce climate change’s negative impacts

Jakarta Post: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says that countries in the region must take immediate action to reduce the negative impact of climate change. "The region's rapid economic growth has often come with concerns over environmental degradation. We are increasingly using resources at the cost of environment," ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said in an official statement on Thursday. "Unless we change, the efforts to improve both human life and the environment will be useless," he added. Asian Pacific...

URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/03/asian-countries-told-reduce-climate-change-s-negative-impacts.html

Teachers Endure Balancing Act Over Climate Change Curriculum

PBS NewsHour: JEFFREY BROWN: And now to our series called Coping With Climate Change that examines how communities around the country are dealing with unfolding changes. Tonight, Hari Sreenivasan focuses on the challenges of teaching about climate science. CHERYL MANNING, high school science teacher: Talk about what is -- what have you heard? HARI SREENIVASAN: Cheryl Manning, a high school science teacher in Evergreen, Colo., starts her lessons about climate change by asking questions, not giving answers....

URL: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/climate-change/jan-june12/teachclimate_05-02.html
Enclosure: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/media/2012/05/02/20120502_teachclimate.mp3

Plant Experiments Underestimate Climate Change Effects

Science Now: The past mild winter in the United States brought spring flowers before April's showers, fueling concerns about how climate change might upset the synchrony between plants and the organisms they interact with. A new study suggests that the mismatch may be worse than previously thought. Experiments designed to test the effects of warming failed to predict just how much earlier plants will develop. When plants leaf or bloom-part of a field called phenology-"provides one of the most sensitive indicators...

URL: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/05/plant-responses-to-climate-change.html?ref=hp

Nearly 200,000 homeless after floods in Peru's Amazon region

Mongabay: 191,000 people are homeless or have have suffered "significant" damage due to flooding in the Amazon region of eastern Peru, reports the Associated Press. The flooding is considered the worst in 30 years, inundating croplands and communities along the Amazon River and its tributaries. Last month the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in Loreto, a region that borders Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil. Now there are reports of a leptospirosis outbreak, which has already killed three people....

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0502-peru-amazon-flooding.html

Q&A: Reviving the Spirit of Rio+20

Inter Press Service: In the weeks and months leading up to the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development, groups spanning a wide spectrum of interests are doing everything in their power to ensure that the outcomes of the summit are actually carried out. One such group is the Conference on Sustainable Development Major Group of Children and Youth, which believes that strengthening youth involvement and activism is urgent and critical to the success of the United Nations (U.N.) Conference on Sustainable Development,...

URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107647

Lights Out for Research Satellites?

New York Times: Earth-observing systems operated by the United States have entered a steep decline, imperiling the nation`s monitoring of weather, natural disasters and climate change, a report from the National Research Council warned on Wednesday. Long-running and new missions are frequently delayed, lost or cancelled because of budget cuts, launch failures, disorganization and changes in mission design and scope, the report said. In 2007, the research council, the working arm of the National Academies,...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/lights-out-for-research-satellites/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/02/science/npp/npp-blog480.jpg

Report warns of weather satellites' 'rapid decline'

USA Today: Predicting the weather is tricky enough. Now a new government-sponsored report warns that the USA's ability to track tornadoes, forecast hurricanes and study climate change is about to diminish. The number and capability of weather satellites circling the planet "is beginning a rapid decline" and tight budgets have significantly delayed or eliminated missions to replace them, says a National Research Council analysis out Wednesday. The number of in-orbit and planned Earth observation missions...

URL: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/story/2012-05-02/weather-satellites-forecast-storms/54708804/1?csp=34news&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29

Plants flower faster than climate change models predict

BBC: Scientific models are failing to accurately predict the impact of global warming on plants, says a new report. Researchers found in long-term studies that some are flowering up to eight times faster than models anticipate. The authors say that poor study design and a lack of investment in experiments partly account for the difference. They suggest that spring flowering and leafing will continue to advance at the rate of 5 to 6 days per year for every degree celsius of warming. The results...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17924653
Enclosure: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11014.html

Shale causes rise in waste gas pollution

Reuters: The shale energy boom is fuelling a rise in the burning of waste gas after years of decline, a World Bank source told Reuters ahead of the release of new data, giving environmentalists more ammunition against the industry. Global gas flaring crept up by 4.5 percent in 2011, the first rise since 2008 and equivalent to the annual gas use of Denmark, preliminary data from the World Bank shows. The increase is mostly due to the rise in shale oil exploration in North Dakota, propelling the United...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/02/us-energy-gas-flaring-idUSBRE8410US20120502?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Business+News%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120502&t=2&i=602088725&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE8411C3F00

Climate change impact on plants could be underestimated, says new study

GlobalPost: Climate change's impact on plants was underestimated by previous investigations, says a new study. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, along with 22 other institutions around the world, say that the blossoming of plants might be eight times faster than earlier models show. According to AFP, earlier artificial experiments are usually done by putting plants in a chamber or canopy near a heater that is meant to mimic rising temperatures. Lead author Elizabeth Wolkovich and...

URL: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/science/120502/climate-change-impact-plants-could-be-underestimated-says-new-
Enclosure: http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gp3_small_article/130759428.jpg

Heavy rain 'threatens to pollute nation's beaches'

Independent: The heavy rain is having a damaging effect on Britain's beaches, washing raw sewage from overflow pipes and pollution on to bathing areas. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) warned yesterday that the recent spate of wet weather was having an adverse effect on the coast, on the same day it announced a record number of beaches across the UK had earned the top award for water quality. One of the major threats to bathing water quality are overflow pipes which discharge raw sewage into rivers and...

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/heavy-rain-threatens-to-pollute-nations-beaches-7707606.html

United Kingdom: Drought: water, water, everywhere ...

Guardian: Even in the most apocalyptic of biblical times, drought and floods didn't happen at the same time. So, as the images of floodwater swilling around Tewkesbury Abbey dominate the news, and dozens of flood alerts remain in force in England and Wales, pity the poor environment secretary Caroline Spelman trying to explain why standpipes might still be necessary next summer. Pity, however, should not deflect reality – that successive governments have ducked the hard questions about where water comes from,...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/02/drought-water-utilities-companies

Plant study flags dangers of warming world

Reuters: Plants are flowering faster than scientists predicted in response to climate change, research in the United States showed on Wednesday, which could have devastating knock-on effects for food chains and ecosystems. Global warming is having a significant impact on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some breeding, migration and feeding patterns, scientists say. Increased carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels can affect how plants...

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47265327
Enclosure: http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/reuters/2012-05-02t171847z_2_cbre8411c2i00_rtroptp_3_britain.grid-6x2.jpg

Climate impact on plants could be underestimated - study

Agence France-Presse: Experiments that try to simulate global warming's impact on plants badly underestimate what happens in the real world, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. The investigation backs anecdotal evidence from farmers and gardeners, especially in the northern hemisphere, who say seasonal plants are stirring into life far earlier than in the past. Artificial experiments into global warming usually entail encasing a plant in an open-top greenhouse-like chamber, or in a...

URL: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iWpB1LJT48OS-uulcc78PWfriELw?docId=CNG.6072f7092a05f3fef18382e399efdcca.381

Warming Ocean Current Might Create Coral Refuges

LiveScience: Warming ocean water has devastating effects on coral reefs, causing coral to bleach by expelling their symbiotic algae. Image: Hughes et al. Current Biology Global warming is expected to have devastating effects on coral reefs, but recent research points to a few exceptions. Warming in the equatorial Pacific may actually create refuges for corals around a handful of islands, even as it bleaches, or kills, corals elsewhere, suggests new research that predicts increased upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich...

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=warming-ocean-current-might-create-coral-refuges
Enclosure: http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/warming-ocean-current-might-create-coral-refuges_1.jpg

Tree pests worse with climate change

United Press International: Climate change increases the risk to European spruce forests from destructive bark beetles because of rising temperatures and less rainfall, researchers say. Writing in the journal Climatic Change, scientists say low rainfall and warmer temperatures weakened the trees' defenses against the bark beetle. In addition, dry conditions have encouraged the bark beetle to extend its range by moving to higher altitudes, Lorenzo Marini from the University of Padua in Italy said. The low rainfall at those...

URL: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2012/05/02/Tree-pests-worse-with-climate-change/UPI-62811335989243/?spt=hs&or=sn

Ecosystem effects of biodiversity loss could rival impacts of climate change, pollution

ScienceDaily: Loss of biodiversity appears to impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to a new study from an international research team. The study is the first comprehensive effort to directly compare the impacts of biological diversity loss to the anticipated effects of a host of other human-caused environmental changes. The results highlight the need for stronger local, national and international efforts to protect biodiversity and the...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120502133106.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2012/05/120502133106-large.jpg

Congress Needs to Pass PTC Extension – Soon

![][1] In February and March, the United States Congress struck a blow to domestic alternative energy production, which is already resulting in stalled economic growth and job losses. Congress missed a chance to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind power generation. While a PTC extension could still appear as stand-alone legislation or tied to another bill, it's imperative that such a move happens soon. PTC, an income tax credit of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for wind turbine electricity production, is essential for tens of thousands of American jobs, as well as the continued success of domestic green energy generation.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/3/16/1332-congress-needs-to-pass-ptc-extension--soon.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/congress-needs-to-pass-ptc-extension-soon?cmpid=rss

First Wind Starts Major Construction Work on Palouse Wind Project.

Once complete, the Palouse Wind project will be the largest renewable energy facility in the county with the capacity to generate enough clean energy to power about 30,000 Northwest homes, equal to the total energy load of all of Whitman County. Construction of the project is expected to be completed by November and it will be online and operating by the end of the year.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12004.html

Exxon's Big Bet on Shale Gas Won't Pay Off if Clean Energy Scales

![][1] For several years now, we've been making the case that the clean energy industry has to dramatically scale its advocacy investment to meet an aggressive disinformation campaign trained against it by the fossil lobby. We've found increasing receptiveness to that message, but we still run into people who think we've got tin foil on

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/2/6357-exxon-s-big-bet-on-shale-gas-won-t-pay-off-if-clean-energy-scales.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/exxons-big-bet-on-shale-gas-wont-pay-off-if-clean-energy-scales?cmpid=rss

NASA Partners License Nanotube Technology for Commercial Use.

Possible energy applications include new types of batteries, energy harvesting, electrical insulation, radiation shielding and piezoelectrics.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12002.html

Five New Products

Two new solar panel mounts ... electric Class 8 tractor ... insurance for large solar projects ... LED street lights ... charging station and monitoring system.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/content/products.html

Five New Requests for Proposals

>From the US Department of Energy ... wireless charging for cars ... hydropower assessments ... fuel cells for airport vehicles ... electric vehicles in the cargo sector ... computational modeling for lightweighting vehicles

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/content/fundopps.html

Why Location is Critical to Understanding Sustainability

![][1] According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sustainability is based on one simple principle: "Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony that permits fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations."

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/2/1332-why-location-is-critical-to-understanding-sustainability.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/why-location-is-critical-to-understanding-sustainability?cmpid=rss

EERC and DenYon Energy Develop Integrated Power and Waste Management System for the Poultry Industry.

The EERC will run several weeks of pilot-scale tests to determine the efficiency and performance of the system using poultry litter and other waste materials as fuel. The testing will determine what challenges need to be overcome to bring the waste-to-energy technology to the commercial marketplace.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12003.html

PV for All: Low-Income Housing Residents Going Solar

![][1] Until recently, the low-income housing community has been a tough nut for the solar industry to crack. Low-income housing developments have historically avoided going solar due to the obvious difficulties of incorporating high-cost, discretionary photovoltaic (PV) systems into affordable housing. However, a unique mix of local, utility, and federal support combined with a little financial creativity allowed a community in Colorado to demonstrate the application of PV into a low-income housing program.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/2/1332-pv-for-all-low-income-housing-residents-going-solar.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/pv-for-all-low-income-housing-residents-going-solar?cmpid=rss

Life in the sea found its fate in a paroxysm of extinction

New York Times: It may never be as well known as the Cretaceous extinction, the one that killed off the dinosaurs. Yet the much earlier Permian extinction — 252 million years ago — was by far the most catastrophic of the planet's five known paroxysms of species loss. No wonder it is called the Great Dying: Scientists calculate that about 95 percent of marine species, and an uncountable but probably comparable percentage of land species, went extinct in a geological heartbeat. The cause or causes of the Permian...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/science/new-studies-of-permian-extinction-shed-light-on-the-great-dying.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/01/science/01JPPERM1_SPAN/01JPPERM1_SPAN-articleLarge.jpg

Economic growth said driving warming trend

United Press International: To slow climate change the world will either have to put the brakes on economic growth or change the way the world's economies work, U.S. scientists say. A study by University of Michigan researchers assessed the effects of several factors on year-to-year changes in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. Researchers looked at two natural phenomena believed to affect CO2 levels -- volcanic eruptions and the El Nino weather pattern -- and two human factors, world population and the world...

URL: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2012/05/01/Economic-growth-said-driving-warming-trend/UPI-13501335907860/
Enclosure: http://ph.cdn.photos.upi.com/sv/ph/UPI-13501335907860/5bf79168a7c72631e99694fb2779446f/Economic-growth-said-driving-warming-trend.jpg

New Zealand: Spotlight on rising sea levels

Nelson Mail: Flooding caused by more frequently occurring storm surges is an indication of rising sea levels, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research principal scientist Rob Bell said. It's an issue that the Nelson and Tasman councils are taking seriously, and representatives of each will be attending a conference in Wellington next week held by the New Zealand Climate Change Centre (NZCCC). Dr Bell said greater incidences of storm surges are the first noticeable signs of rising sea levels...

URL: http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/6845048/Spotlight-on-rising-sea-levels

Do warmer average temperatures stimulate more crime?

ClimateWire: From spitfires to cold shoulders, the link between temperature and human emotion is deeply embedded in our vocabulary. Arguments heat up, tempers boil over and hotheads must be calmed by cooler voices. Down to their etymological roots, the words "temperature" and "temperament" share a common ancestor: the Latin temperare, meaning "to mix in correct proportion." But does heat really correlate with anger and aggression? On a physiological level, the answer seems to be yes. Human beings respond to...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/05/01/1

Obama: Focus on Climate Change to Bolster the Economy

Triple Pundit: From Jimmy Kimmel Live to Jon Stewart to Rolling Stone, President Obama's re-election campaign is gearing up with a strong emphasis on youth and particularly the left-leaning, activist youth vote. Tapping into the same coalition that was instrumental in securing his victory in 2008 is a crucial part of the plan for 2012. It might be a harder sell this time around because of a fragile economic recovery, stubbornly high unemployment -- especially for grads and younger workers trying to enter the...

URL: http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/05/obama-focus-climate-change-bolster-economy/

How do you count the world's hungry people?

AlertNet: Two years ago, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched a petition to fight hunger with the slogan: "1,000,000,000 people live in chronic hunger and I'm mad as hell." Since then, more than 3.4 million people, including actors, pop stars and footballers, have added their voices to the online campaign calling on governments to make the elimination of hunger their top priority. But outrage over the "horrifying figure" of 1 billion hungry people around the world, as it was described...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/feature-are-there-really-1-billion-people-hungry
Enclosure: http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/resize-image/65e14884-f548-45d5-ad30-f2b2a0e02017/photowide/?w=460&h=318&vn=201205021127

Vestas confirms 7MW wind turbine delay on back of 'disappointing' results

BusinessGreen: Vestas has confirmed it has been approached by potential partners to develop its next-generation 7MW wind turbine, after posting worse-than-expected first quarter earnings today. The Danish turbine manufacturer reported operating losses of EUR245m for January to March compared with losses of EUR69m in the same period last year, and averaged analyst predictions from Thomson Reuters of losses of EUR59.8m. Vestas chief executive and president Ditlev Engel said the results were "disappointing"...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2171915/vestas-confirms-7mw-wind-turbine-delay-disappointing-results?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Vestas+confirms+7MW+wind+turbine+delay+on+back+of+%27disappointing%27+results

Arctic military buildup linked to climate change by new report

Alaska Dispatch: Is the Arctic being militarized? As nations and corporations look north to unlock natural resources in the melting Arctic Ocean, military buildup is accelerating at the pole, too. Indeed, according to a new report by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, militarization has been going on for years -- "the starkest example yet of the way climate change directly affects international security." The report looks at how focused governments are on their northern borders, where climate change...

URL: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/arctic-military-buildup-linked-climate-change-new-report
Enclosure: http://www.c2es.org/blog/gulledgej/climate-change-impact-international-arctic-security

India to pump in Rs 2 lakh cr in 12th Plan to save climate

Times of India: The fight against climate change will take a strategic jump in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2017) with the government intending to plough in almost Rs 2 lakh crore through the various missions, the working group on climate of the 12th Five-Year Plan has said. The report seeks setting up of a dedicated structure of governance to oversee the different programmes under the 12th Plan with such large funds to be invested. The agriculture mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change alone...

URL: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-30/global-warming/31506507_1_national-action-plan-climate-change-green-india-mission

Permit glut points to new EU carbon policy tool

Reuters: Any one-off European Union intervention to clear the massive glut of permits now clogging its emissions trading scheme is likely to lead to a 'central bank' or other policy tool to manage future imbalances in the world's biggest carbon market. If it does act, the European Commission, the bloc's executive, is cautious about entrenching such a mechanism in the scheme, the bloc's chief weapon to fight climate change. Analysts and observers say a new tool is needed to fix an oversupply estimated...

URL: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/01/uk-carbon-supply-idUKBRE8400I420120501

Motorcycle swept away by Japanese tsunami reaches Canada

Associated Press: It must have been a wild ride. A Harley-Davidson motorcycle lost in last year's tsunami has washed up on a Canadian island about 4,000 miles away, according to Japanese media reports. The rusted bike was found in a large white container where its owner, Ikuo Yokoyama, had kept it. He was located through the number plate number, Fuji TV reported on Wednesday. "This is unmistakably mine. It's miraculous," Yokoyama told Nippon TV when shown photos of the motorcycle. Yokoyama lost three members...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/02/motorcycle-japanese-tsunami-reaches-canada
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2012/5/2/1335950482467/Harley-Davidson-008.jpg

In Britain, more flood warnings after wettest April

Agence France-Presse: Parts of Britain were on "high alert" for floods again Tuesday after a night of torrential downpours as Met Office figures showed April was the wettest on record. The Environment Agency (EA) had 33 flood warnings and 139 flood alerts -- where flooding is expected or possible respectively -- in place after overnight storms brought more than 20mm (0.8in) of rain to some areas, particularly in the south west. That represents approaching a third of the regular monthly average of 69.6mm. Officials...

URL: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h1803oQE1Tm3GbQSoJl-1JOCV48A